


The Man Who Sold the World

by EllOnWheels



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Artificial Intelligence, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, Light Angst, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Slash, Song Lyrics, could be slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 11:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19375696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllOnWheels/pseuds/EllOnWheels
Summary: After Endgame, Stephen Strange finds that the littlest things will set him off.





	The Man Who Sold the World

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first idea I thought of after seeing Endgame... I would love the idea of A.I. Tony Stark raising hell JARVIS style for the rest of the MCU.
> 
> I'm fairly certain that this is a one shot for now. But if I get ideas then I will continue it.

Stephen went up to the roof to cry. Little things set him off. Remembering the millions of futures he’d witnessed often did it, but usually all it took was a reminder of cold, hard, reality... Something to harken him back to what he’d done, or rather, what he’d permitted to happen. He still couldn’t ratify his hippocratic oath with how things had unfolded. He’d sent a man to die. He’d let it happen. He wondered if he could have found another way. Surely there was a future where everyone survived, but he’d stopped when he got to the one where Thanos’ action could be undone.

But the survival of the many felt hollow over the loss of one. The trigger this time had been an innocent trip to the bodega up the block. He was paying for his groceries and a cup of coffee when he finally took notice of the song on the radio. The Man Who Sold The World wailed through the speakers, causing Stephen’s hands to tremor even more as he picked up his bag of groceries. He held the bag to his chest to avoid dropping it and called up a portal to the Sanctum as soon as he was out of the door of the bodega, leaving his change and coffee on the counter.

He sent the bag of groceries through to the kitchen and the items into their proper places, and then pounded up the stairs to the roof. He burst through the old door, and it groaned in protest. The railing edge of the terrace stopped him as he gasped for air. He squeezed his eyes firmly shut, and leaned heavily on the railing.

Stephen well understood that this was normal emotion, and that his guilt would eat at him if he didn’t process it. He let out one sob, and then another, with the picture in his mind of the beautiful dark haired child he’d seen on the day of Tony’s funeral. He’d known all along how this was going to play out, and that made it worse, not better. It went against every instinct in him to not interfere. And he had to force down the urge to help even as he watched Tony pinch the stones from Thanos’ grasp... It was over so quickly. An eon in an instant. He’d still been holding back the wall of water and setting the spell to keep it there, and he could only watch as Rhodes, Parker, and Potts attended and witnessed Tony’s passing.

Still, Stephen felt the moment when Tony’s soul left his body and the light in his eyes went out. He could feel Tony’s acceptance and exhaustion, and the bereft feeling of a life unfinished. Perhaps Tony's heroism might have ended after this, but he still had had so much to live for. Morgan Stark’s beautiful face had been in Tony’s mind’s eye as he was pulled from his body and everything went dark.

Stephen remained stone faced for the days and weeks to follow. No one bothered to ask him if he could have prevented it. No one had known, other than the Guardians and Parker, of what Stephen had chosen to let unfold. And they now had their own moral crosses and grief to bear. Parker hadn’t spoken up. Either he understood and was angry at Stephen, or he was unaware. Stephen was comfortable with either option. He was a dangerous person for Parker to be associated with. Stephen dragged in a ragged breath, trying to banish the guilt and the lyrics of the song from his mind.

“Aww, don’t cry, Snape.” Tony’s voice was impossible and Stephen’s head raised to look ahead of him and into what should have been empty air.

But the air wasn’t empty. A very real Iron Man suit hovered quietly on its repulsors. Stephen immediately suspected subterfuge and called up Eldritch Magic shields.

“Relax, Dumbledore, it’s me... Well, sort of anyway,” Tony said and gave a characteristic nod of his head.

“What did you do? Who are you?” Stephen asked.

“Well, when I figured out time travel, and shit was about to go down, I figured it would be a good time to crack the singularity,” Tony said. The helmet peeled back, revealing a blue-tinted hologram of Tony Stark, true to life, but a decade younger. “It’s taken a few weeks putting my code in order on secret servers, but here I am... I'd just begun exploring when I saw your energy signature vanish out of the bodega up the block. I was worried something was wrong, so I took a foray out to check on you... And you’re sad, and that’s no good. We just got everyone back.”

“Tony... You... Uploaded your mind?” Stephen asked, ignoring the fact that no, not everyone got to be back and fine.

“Think I got all of it, anyway. I’m not sure I’m still... You know... Human,” Tony said with a little shrug. The hologram’s expression was unsure and nervous. Stephen looked at Tony hard, scanning for an aura, and hence, a soul, but it was difficult to tell. There was spark, perhaps, but Stephen thought that seeing the servers that Tony’s consciousness were on would give him the answer.

“Oh Tony, what did you do to yourself?” Stephen murmured, sad and curious at the same time. He reached out and gently brushed his fingertips over the back of the armour’s gauntlet.

“I was terrified of dying, doc. Utterly terrified. And also I was egotistical enough to consider that my mind might be needed some day, and because of that I might be able to regain my personhood at some point,” Tony admitted. He propelled the armour over the railing and landed softly on the roof. “So I’m still sorting everything out. Been adrift for awhile now, cruising the net, looking in on everyone. Everyone seems to be healing and moving on... Except for you.”

“I’ve never processed emotions very well,” Stephen said glibly, and wiped his eyes.

“Stephen, it’s okay... Or it will be... I was not surprised by this. I always knew it was a possibility, especially when you refused to confirm any possible future,” Tony said. That gave Stephen pause. “What? You thought I’d resent you? You didn’t strap me into this armour all those years ago. You didn’t make my choices for me.”

“But I knew,” Stephen admitted. “I knew it was going to happen and I let it happen... And I feel like I sent you to die, and now Morgan will suffer while murder happy Barton goes home to his goddamn farm.”

“My daughter will miss me because she knows I love her more than anything else in the world. I only left her once. If this A.I. thing works out, I may be able to get back to her again some day... Barton’s kids got left behind multiple times and now he has to deal with the fallout of his actions. Morgan won’t suffer anything other than the loss of me. She’s a billionaire surrounded by people who love her. She’ll be fine... Eventually... Pepper is an amazing mother. She’s hands on, and has learned to delegate the business out so she can do that. There are two to three decades worth of ideas in my tinker file. Stark Industries will be fine. Morgan may even take it over one day... And if she does, I hope she does wonderful things with it,” Tony said. “So you shouldn’t feel guilty, or at least you should start letting go.”

“Like you’re letting go?” Stephen countered warily while looking Tony up and down.

“I’m a program now, Stephen. Lines of self-repairing and improving code. I don’t yet know if I will have more complex emotions. I am set up like JARVIS and to a lesser degree FRIDAY... I’m a learning program with all the experience and memories of Tony Stark... Am I Tony Stark? I don’t know to be honest. I don’t know if I’m a person or not. I definitely won’t be seen as one in the eyes of the law for now. But I can work on that later,” Tony said. “What I can say is that whether I am actually Tony Stark or not, all of his memories and experience are urging me to urge you to let go of your guilt about this. I’m gonna be fine... I’m hiding on servers in a bunker right now. Every so often, FRIDAY will let me watch Pepper and Morgan have a meal at home. It’s nice.”

“So they don’t know?” Stephen asked.

“Not yet, and I respectfully ask that you keep it that way. I don’t want to terrify my wife and child by suddenly appearing like a ghost. It’s not nice... And will end in therapy bills,” Tony said.

Stephen wiped his eyes one more time. “Well, if you’re wanting for conversation, you’re welcome here,” Stephen said.

“I... I’d like that,” Tony admitted. “It’s been lonely. I’m trying to keep to my protocols. Letting people mourn properly, ya know? But I thought you needed an intervention.”

“I think you were right,” Stephen said. The hologram of Tony smiled slightly at him.

“Thank you for not freaking out,” Tony said.

“I’ve seen weirder,” Stephen replied.

“I bet... Tell me about it,” Tony encouraged. Stephen squinted at the hologram, suspicious.

“Learning program, Stephen. I want to know everything,” Tony said.

“You seem to be comfortable with the idea,” Stephen said.

“I’m not exactly yet... But I did design how my intelligence is supposed to process and feel. I know the mechanics. The experience of it is new. But I’m sorting it out,” Tony said and smiled hopefully.

 

 _We passed upon the stair_  
_We spoke of was and when_  
_Although I wasn't there_  
_He said I was his friend_  
_Which came as a surprise_  
_I spoke into his eyes_  
_I thought you died alone_  
_A long long time ago_

 _Oh no, not me_  
_We never lost control_  
_You're face to face_  
_With the man who sold the world_

 _I laughed and shook his hand_  
_And made my way back home_  
_I searched for form and land_  
_For years and years I roamed_  
_I gazed a gazeless stare_  
_We walked a million hills_  
_I must have died alone_  
_A long, long time ago_

 _Who knows?_  
_Not me_  
_I never lost control_  
_You're face to face_  
_With the man who sold the world_

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love... :)


End file.
